Kogi commences payment of four months’ salaries to workers

Kogi State Government today commenced table payment of all its workers in ministries, departments and agencies as part of efforts to weed out ghost workers from the payroll.

The Secretary to the State Government, Mrs Folashade Ayoade, who made this known in Lokoja, said that the exercise will involve payment of between three to four months salaries to workers over a period of two weeks.

She said that the table payment will hold simultaneously in nine centres for workers in Lokoja, while it will hold in designated centres in all senatorial districts for out-station workers.

According to her, only workers that were cleared during the last screening exercise will participate in the table payment. The monthly wage bill of workers in the state currently stands at two-point-six billion naira in spite of a prolonged screening exercise under which many workers lost their jobs.

In its reaction, the Nigeria Labour Congress commended the state government for embarking on the table payment of salaries to its members. The state NLC Chairman

Mr Onu Edoka, charged the committee that would handle the payment to be transparent, effective and accountable in handling the exercise.